Drivers Training

As new drivers, teens often encounter problems on the road due to inexperience. It is for that reason behind-the-wheel training is so important. The state of Arizona does not require professional behind-the-wheel instruction, but it does require teens to practice under the supervision of a licensed driver.

Instruction permit holders under the age of 18 can pursue the requirement through an authorized third-party training program or with a parent. It will help you understand what to watch out for on the road.

Risky Driving Behavior

Studies abound on accidents involving teen drivers because the number is disproportionately high compared with the number of drivers in the age range. Most conclude that the reason the numbers are so high is that younger drivers take more risks.

Adolescent drivers are more apt to participate in dangerous behavior behind the wheel than people in other age groups. Their inexperience allows them to overestimate their abilities and disassociate their risky behavior with its consequences, thus creating numerous opportunities for collisions.

However, it is possible to prevent the problem by identifying the risky behaviors in which teen drivers participate and working to avoid them. The following behaviors are among the most popular:

• Driving over the speed limit

• Trying to beat a red light

• Tailgating

• Passing other cars in no-passing zones

• Passing multiple cars at once

• Not coming to a complete three-second stop at a stop sign

• Weaving in and out of lanes to pass slow-moving cars

• Confusing risky driving with fun driving

• Drag racing

Parental Limits

Statistics also show that the majority of teen accidents occur during the first year in which the teen has their driver's license. For that reason, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) favor limiting teen drivers' exposure to dangerous driving situations during their first year on the road. The restrictions allow the teens to gain valuable behind-the-wheel time, but limit that time to when safe road conditions exist.

Because Arizona's graduated licensing system doesn't put limits on when and with whom those under 18 can drive, it is up to parents to do so. The NIH stresses the importance of establishing the limitations at the outset so that teens won't feel that they are unnecessary or punitive. The suggested limits are as follows:

• No driving after dark.

• No driving with other adolescents in the car.

• No driving during bad weather.

• No driving on roads with high speed limits, such as highways.